About us

The Friends of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham was established in 2011 to assist with the work of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham in England and Wales through both practical and financial support. The Friends of the Ordinariate was also established in order to raise awareness of the Ordinariate’s life and mission within the wider Catholic community.

We are a separate charity from the Ordinariate, with our own trustees who are:

Peter Sefton-Williams (Chairman)

Lord Gill

Mgr Andrew Burnham

Mgr John Boradhurst

Nicolas Olivant

Michael Hodges

We work closely with the Ordinary, Mgr Keith Newton, who is our president, to identify areas where the Friends can be of assistance.

We gratefully receives donations from individuals and organisations who share in the Holy See’s vision of Christian Unity, which has been made manifest in the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham.

Since our founding in 2011 we have been pleased to give grants to a great many projects. In 2016, this included:

£5,000 towards the running of the Portal magazine: the UK Ordinariate’s publication

£15,000 towards a meeting room & study for the Hemel Hempstead Ordinariate group

£3,000 towards the first year’s salary for a Director of Music for Precious Blood, London Bridge

£15,000 towards the renovation of the parish rooms at Our Lady of the Assumption & St. Gregory, Warwick Street, including a shower facility for local homeless.

A number of distinguished individuals have offered to serve as Honorary Vice-Presidents:

The former Apostolic Nuncio to Great Britain, His Excellency Archbishop Antonio Mennini, asked benefactors to be as generous as possible in their support of the Ordinariate.

In an address to the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, given at Oscott in May 2011, Archbishop Mennini said:

‘[The Pope] reminded me that he had asked you to be “generous in implementing the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus”. In his name, I wish to thank all of you for the way you have meticulously carried out that mandate. At the same time, I wish to congratulate and encourage Monsignor Keith Newton who was appointed first Ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham.’